HKU Bulletin June 2013 (Vol. 14 No. 3)

June 2013 29 Honours for Talent andAchievement Our scholars’ outstanding contributions to academic life at HKU and to the community were honoured at the Award Presentation Ceremony for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Knowledge Exchange 2012, which was held in March this year. For the first time, the Ceremony honoured staff with remarkable performances in knowledge exchange, the third leg of the University’s mission. The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Lap-Chee Tsui, said: “The significance of knowledge exchange between the University and the wider community has become more prominent in recent years. The University has stepped up its efforts to promote and support knowledge exchange for the benefit it can bring to both society and academia.” He also noted the achievements in teaching, where staff have worked particularly hard in recent years to prepare for the successful launch of the new four-year undergraduate curriculum in September 2012, as well as the University’s ongoing excellence in research. In total 47 awards were handed out at an event capped by warm congratulations from the Pro-Chancellor, Dr the Honourable David Li Kwok-po. “The awards we have bestowed affirm the greatness of our University through the greatness of those who devote themselves to learning, to teaching and to discovery and who chose to do so at the University of Hong Kong. We are deeply grateful to all of you,” he said. OutstandingTeachingAward This award signifies the University’s commitment to recognising and promoting excellence in teaching. Both the team and individual awards are given to those who have shown creativity in and dedication to making learning enjoyable and challenging. Individual Award Dr Chan Lap-ki ! " ! # ! $ % & ' $ ( " ) * + * ( , $ * + ! - . ) " $ ) $ / ( # ) * ! " % 0 $ 1 * 2 ! 3 $ ! % & 4 * ! % 3 5 Anatomy is the foundation of clinical medicine, yet as a subject of study, it can seem dry and technical. Dr Chan’s mission has been to get his students excited and energised about this most meaningful subject. His teaching seeks to help students understand the place of humans in nature, and he encourages them to think rather than answer questions because they will learn more by exploring with their minds. One task he set students was to interview future body donors. Victor Hui, a current MBBS student, said: “This first-hand experience with life and death allowed us to reflect on the nature of life and to prepare our minds before we have to face life and death again in our future career.” That is an outcome that Dr Chan hopes for. “As a surgeon, I can change the structure of the human body. But as a teacher, I can change the minds of my students, a task that I see as much more difficult, but much more fulfilling.” Dr Lam Shui-fong 0 $ 1 * 2 ! 3 $ ! % & 6 5 ) - % + % 7 5 Dr Lam still inspires her students with the same passion that she had 18 years ago, when she started teaching at HKU. “My passion for teaching has not faded at all. I understand every student will have a natural motivation for learning if they find meaning in it,” she said. Learning motivation is also her research interest and she uses what she learns to help improve her students’ learning experience. For example, she had them reply to a government consultation on education reform so they would see that their written work could have value beyond being graded by their teacher. “I encourage students to apply their learning in the real world, particularly for the betterment of their community,” she said. But Dr Lam also wants her students to enjoy learning. “The biggest momentum for me is their smiles – I can see they really like learning and they are learning something. That makes me happy.” Dr Gary James Harfitt 8 * ) # + ! 5 % & / ( # ) * ! " % Dr Harfitt has been teaching at HKU for 10 years and continues to receive the highest praise from students even years after they graduated. One of the secrets of Dr Harfitt’s success is that he deeply cherishes being a teacher, which is the crux of all the work he does, from research to classroom work to working with local schools. He is also enthusiastic about getting student- teachers to use stories when teaching reading. “If their student doesn’t like reading, maybe we have to go back a little bit rather than push forward with a heavy novel. We need to find texts that are creative and stimulating and colourful, and start from there,” he said. Teaching his student-teachers to focus on their students dovetails with Dr Harfitt’s own feelings about his profession. “The more I teach the more I realise that the key to effective teaching is recognising the students’ needs above my own. Good teaching comes from the heart.” Teaching, Research and Knowledge Exchange Awards